Miami Heat did not pursue Al Horford in free agency

Al Horford was a key addition for Boston, but was never truly in play for the Heat. (Getty Images)

Al Horford was a key addition for Boston, but was never truly in play for the Heat. (Getty Images)

It says a lot about what the Heat think of Hassan Whiteside that they basically chose him over Al Horford.

Horford, a four-time All-Star who just turned 30, was believed to be interested in coming to Miami, but the team never engaged him. Pat Riley said once the Heat had a deal with Whiteside, they eliminated Horford as an option. He agreed to a contract with the Celtics before the end of the weekend.

“It’s not out of a lack of respect for him, it’s that at 12:01 a.m. I came to an agreement with Hassan,” Riley said. “I don’t care if Dallas came in after us, we had Hassan. Once we got Hassan, I didn’t want to string along anybody else.

“We like Al, we love Joakim Noah. Everybody that was at the top – the (DeMar) DeRozans, the (Bradley) Beals, the (Nic) Batums, (Dwight) Howard, Horford – all those guys, their deals were done. Horford is going to really help Boston, I think. But we didn’t really push on that one.”